Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hi
Speaker 1: brain Stuff. I'm Lauren bog Bam, and today I have
Speaker 1: a classic brain Stuff episode for you. It's about the history, components,
Speaker 1: and even philosophy behind Chinese five spice, the adaptable spice
Speaker 1: blend that I certainly started using more of after we
Speaker 1: did this episode. Hi brain Stuff, Lauren Vogebam. Here, it's
Speaker 1: easy to take Chinese five spice powder for granted, you
Speaker 1: might even wonder if it's culturally authentic. But not only
Speaker 1: is this curious spice blend an important part of China's
Speaker 1: culinary tradition, it's an attempt to balance the crucial five
Speaker 1: flavors identified in Chinese culture. The spice blend itself is
Speaker 1: far from set in stone. You'll frequently find five spice
Speaker 1: powder that contains cinnamon, starnie, cloves, fennel, and Schwan peppercorns,
Speaker 1: but these specific ingredients vary. They don't even have to
Speaker 1: total five. That's because it's less a matter of combining
Speaker 1: five sources of flavor, but rather the creation of a
Speaker 1: spice blend that provides a balance of the five flavors
Speaker 1: themselves bitter, sweet, spicy, sour, and pungent. According to chef
Speaker 1: and author of Stir Crazy Ching he Hung, these flavors
Speaker 1: are crucial for balanced dishes in Chinese cuisine, and their
Speaker 1: use is more complex than a Western branded bottle of
Speaker 1: five spice powder might suggest. Huang said, sometimes the West
Speaker 1: confuses Chinese five spice with allspice, which can contain liquorice, nutmeg,
Speaker 1: and black pepper. The spices and Chinese five spice separately
Speaker 1: and sometimes together whole, are used in numerous dishes, from
Speaker 1: stir fries to braised and stewed dishes a wide range
Speaker 1: of recipes, whereas the West often uses it just in
Speaker 1: powder form and just for marinating. In her own cooking,
Speaker 1: Huang uses the powder for a variety of casseroles, spice rubs, marinaids, roasts, stocks,
Speaker 1: and soy braised dishes. While she admits that store bought
Speaker 1: five spice works perfectly well, she prefers to make it herself.
Speaker 1: Huang said, I make my own with equal quantities of sechuan, pepper,
Speaker 1: star anie, cinnamon, fen and clothes. First dry toast it,
Speaker 1: place it in a spice grinder and grind until it's
Speaker 1: very fine. You can use a fine sieve to make
Speaker 1: sure there are no gritti or larger pieces. Huang also
Speaker 1: points to the deeper understanding of the five flavors, one
Speaker 1: based in traditional Chinese medicines, deep history of herbal medicine,
Speaker 1: and body energy manipulation. According to Beijian University of Chinese
Speaker 1: Medicine professor Dang Ye, the five flavors ensure proper organ
Speaker 1: function and overall health in traditional Chinese medicine. The various
Speaker 1: ingredients in five spice powder factor into other herbal medicine
Speaker 1: traditions as well, though Western medical evidence tends towards the inconclusive.
Speaker 1: The doctrine of the five flavors became established in China
Speaker 1: around the fourth century b C, and tradition places its
Speaker 1: origin in the ancient myth shrouded Jia dynasty of the
Speaker 1: second millennium BC. Whatever its exact origins, the concept proved
Speaker 1: pervasive enough to influence realms outside of medicine and cuisine,
Speaker 1: including philosophical discourse. As philosophy professor Spencer Wortz discusses in
Speaker 1: his book Food and Philosophy, Selected Essays, the ancient philosopher
Speaker 1: Alloosi claimed the five flavors caused men to not taste
Speaker 1: at all. While this would seem counterintuitive to many modern readers,
Speaker 1: the Taoism founder's point was that if you use any
Speaker 1: sense to its fullest udulsibility. Other Taoist thinkers made a
Speaker 1: point of championing the simple tastes of foods like rice
Speaker 1: and kongji, tastes that are arguably annihilated by intense spices.
Speaker 1: Laugi's lesson on over indulgence is obvious, but other Chinese
Speaker 1: philosophers saw the value in a perfect balance of the
Speaker 1: five flavors. As Words points out, a simple bowl of
Speaker 1: soup served as a potent political metaphor in the fourth
Speaker 1: century b c. E text Zochuan. A harmony of spices
Speaker 1: in the soup, it was said, would result in both
Speaker 1: the harmonious flavor and a harmonious mind. Of course, you
Speaker 1: don't have to risk political unrest or sensory decadence in
Speaker 1: your use of five spice powder. The next time you
Speaker 1: reach for it, however, take a moment to consider the
Speaker 1: millennia's worth of tradition embodied in that tiny bottle of
Speaker 1: balanced flavor. M Today's episode is based on the article
Speaker 1: Chinese five spice powder pasty and not Necessarily five Spices
Speaker 1: on how stuff Works dot Com, written by Robert Lamb.
Speaker 1: To hear more from Robert, check out his podcast stuff
Speaker 1: to Blow Your Mind. Brainstuffs production of I Heart Radio
Speaker 1: in partnership with how stuff Works dot Com and is
Speaker 1: produced by Tyler. Play four more podcasts my heart Radio,
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